BRISBANE — Corporations with gross receipts of more than $10 million may have to shell out more money to the city by way of a special business license tax.

The City Council agreed this week to put a special tax on the November ballot. If it passes, the city would receive $450,000 a year once the tax is fully phased in after three years,.

“The businesses do not want to see the services of the city decrease over time,” said Stuart Schillinger, Brisbane’s administrative services director. “They are willing to pay what it takes for Brisbane to be a first-class city.”

The business license schedule has not been updated since 1983. Thirty-five businesses meet the criteria for the special tax, which will need a two-thirds majority to pass.

According to a staff report, a business with more than $10 million a year would pay 7.5 percent per $100 of gross receipts.

At maximum, a company would pay $10,000 for the first year, $22,500 for the second year and $35,000 for the third year. After that, the figure is capped and will increase based on the Consumer Price Index.

Currently, the city collects $1,300 a year in business tax license fees from its major corporations, which make up much of Crocker Industrial Park, Sierra Point, the Bayshore and Baylands.

The new revenue could be used to build a new library, provide new soccer fields and storm drain upgrades or bring in new playground equipment, said City Manager Clay Holstine. In 2009, the city will explore instituting a hotel tax increase of 2 percent to supplement the general fund, he added.

So far, there is no organized opposition to the business license tax.

Richard Borghello, president of the Brisbane Chamber of Commerce, said he’s grateful that the city agreed to phase in the tax.

“The city has worked hard to try to make it as fair as possible across the board,” Borghello said Friday.

A business owner who wanted to remain anonymous, however, said many of the owners won’t have a say in the special tax.

“Many of us don’t mind paying, but the fact is, we don’t get the vote,” he said. “We’re not residents. It’s taxation without representation. And there’s absolutely no reason that this is not going to pass.”